The Paper Bakery Sketch #2

I've really been enjoying the new sketches over at the Paper Bakery. So far, both of their challenges have translated beautifully into two-pagers, which in my book is always a bonus! Here's the sketch I had to work with...

And my double page interpretation...

I used some photos of Santiago when he was 2-1/2. I remember setting him up to watch cartoons and eat cereal while I nursed Paolina, and after I finished I found him still slowly slurping away on his Cheerios because he was so ridiculously engrossed in the TV. Such a boy!

I am still addicted to using Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm, so there is a lot of that on this layout...but I also just got Fancy Pants Trendsetter and used that as well. I love collections that seem like they are feminine, but once you divide the parts up they translate nicely into masculine layouts! This works out nicely when you have a son AND a daughter!

Paper Secrets April 15th Challenge

I'm getting this layout submitted under the wire! Santiago's 5th Birthday Party was this past Saturday and then for the last three days I've been suffering from a migraine. So I've been avoiding bright lights, noise and reading, which of course means I have been staying far away from the computer. After spending the time & effort on the challenge I really wanted to get it uploaded before the deadline though, so here's a brief post for the Paper Secrets April 15th Challenge.

The sketch:

And the twist was to use wood.  I rotated & flipped the sketch and came up with this:

I'm trying my best to get through both kids' first birthday albums, so here's another photo of Paolina opening a gift on her first birthday. Thanks for looking...off to a find a quiet, dark place to lie.

Scrap Our Stash April Challenge #2

Finding the Scrap Our Stash challenge blog has been one of the best things to happen to my scrappy life. So far all the challenges I've taken part in have helped me to really dig into my stash! The second April challenge  was to use the following sketch as well as at least six buttons.

Once again I adapted the sketch into a two-pager. I've been scrapping way too many single-pagers in the last year and really need to do more doubles if I want to get anywhere close to caught up on my scrapbooking!

For this layout I used some more photos of Paolina opening gifts on her first birthday. So fun to reminisce!

About a Girl Mini Challenge

So have you heard the news? The About a Boy challenge blog now has a "sister" challenge site called what else but...About a Girl. Their first official challenge will be on May 1st, but to get us started there is a mini challenge running through this coming Monday. It's pretty simple, just use the following sketch to create a layout about a girl in your life:

And my take on it:

I used some photos of Paolina that I took when she turned 2 months old. And to truly appreciate it you have to know that the adjoining album page (which I completed awhile back) features photos taken of her a mere five minutes prior...all happy and giggling:

I'm really looking forward to About a Girl officially opening as I really need to finish up Paolina's baby albums, and I anticipate great challenges there to motivate me to do so!

Let's Get Sketchy! April Week 4 Challenge

Happy Monday everyone! It's time for a new sketch over at Let's Get Sketchy!  Here's the sketch we had to work with...

I slightly modified it by using a single photo..

This is a picture of Paolina on her first birthday opening a gift from my best friend. She still loves her Curious George!

Please go check out the Let's Get Sketchy! blog for more inspiration using this fun sketch.

S.W.A.T. Drill #6

A lot of people struggle with doing two-page layouts. I do a lot of them because I seem to always have so many photos for a single event, but I admit that they are still not easy for me to do. I definitely don't think I could pull them off without sketches!  So the drill this Saturday at S.W.A.T. is challenging everyone to create a two-page layout. There have been times that I have used half of a two-page sketch to create a single page layout, but there is no cheating like that for this challenge! You must make it a two-pager to qualify for the prize.

Here is the sketch (one of my own!)

And my take on it...

I don't know why but neither one of my kids like anything on their heads. Santiago still won't wear hats, and it's a battle with Paolina to do anything to pull her hair off her face. I'm so jealous of all those moms whose kids sport cute hats and hair clips!

But anyhow, I hope that all of you who fear two-page layouts will step out of your comfort zone and try this challenge at S.W.A.T.

Keeping Things Simple

I think I've resolved myself to the fact that I will probably always be behind on my scrapbooking. As much as I would love to...I cannot scrap all day long. Plus I collect way too many photos and memorabilia that I feel "must be documented" and not put away in a box. I'm realizing though, that I really do NOT need to spend such a ridiculous amount of time embellishing and perfecting all my layouts. For example, each of my kids have one entire album dedicated to their first birthday parties. That is a milestone, and I want everything preserved...even cards given to them. But do I really need to spend hours creating a layout of a birthday card? Not really. Santiago and Paolina will be turning 5 and 3 real soon here, and I have yet to complete either of their "First Birthday" albums. So my plan is to use simple sketches & layouts for any cards I scrap. This is probably easier said than done, as I am obsessed with adding "just one more" flower or other embellishment to my layouts. I'm hoping that with a little stamping, painting, misting and/or distressing I can give these pages visual interest without all the time (and money) spent on more elaborate layouts. My first attempt at "keeping it simple" uses a sketch from the My Scraps & More Sketches blog.

It's the perfect sketch, as it has very clean lines and virtually no embellishments, which helped alleviate much temptation on my part to start piling them on!  I also love that it encouraged me to use lots of scraps...always a bonus in my book!  And here's the finished product...

I'm pleasantly surprised by the fact that I am ok with this layout. It's not my favorite, but I certainly don't hate it. It has lots of texture and the card creates a cute focal point. It's good to know that in a pinch I can create a simple layout.

Colorful Creations Twisted Blueprints

One of my sketches is being featured at Colorful Creations for this week's Twisted Blueprints.  Here's the sketch...

And the twist is "lace."

Here's my example...

I can't believe this photo of me was taken over three years ago! Sometimes it seems like it was just a few months ago that we were bringing Paolina home from the hospital, but she'll be turning three this June 3rd. My "lace" is the design on the background paper and the lace edge punch. Hope you will join in the challenge too!

The Paper Bakery

I love that my scrappy friends fuel my sketch addiction by introducing me to new sketch blogs! I recently discovered (via a fellow design team member) that the Paper Bakery Kit Club now has sketch challenges on their blog, so of course I headed right over to check it out! Loved their current sketch...

I flipped it and came up with this...

I love this photo of Santiago from last year...he's our silly little entertainer! Thanks for looking.

About a Boy April 15th Challenge

The latest challenge at About a Boy is to use artwork from your little man...whether it's a picture drawn at school or on your wall, this is your chance to show it off to the scrapbooking world.

I decided to use Santiago's very first "people" drawing that he did a few weeks before turning four.  The actual drawing is a bit too large to scrap, so this is just a photo of his "artwork."

If you head over to the About a Boy blog you will see all the talented boys that our design team members have.

Sketches With Color April 15th Challenge

Here is the 2nd challenge of April at Sketches With Color...

And my take on it...

Thanks for looking! Please stop by the Sketches With Color blog to see what the rest of our talented girls created.

My Scraps & More Sketch #23

I've made purchases at My Scraps & More in the past...it's a great store that always runs really amazing sales. So I was excited when they started up a sketch challenge blog...because anyone who knows me knows that I'm as addicted to sketches as I am to product!  I have to admit that I "lifted" my design from one of their designer's examples more than I followed the sketch, but I'm extremely pleased with the result. Thank you to Audrey Yeager over at My Scraps & More Sketches for the inspiration!

I used the photo that Noé took of my tummy right before leaving for the hospital to deliver Paolina via scheduled c-secion. When I first got that sun tattoo on my belly years ago, I was informed (after the fact of course!) that there was a possibilty that it would be ruined by pregnancy...so I've been more than pleased that even after two full-term pregnancies it's held its shape perfectly!

Killing Two Birds with One Stone

I love when I can combine challenges! I saw this awesome PageMaps sketch over at Paper Secrets for their April 1st Challenge...

and I was able to combine it with the April Stash challenge from Scrap Our Stash which is to create a layout with at least (1) polks dot paper & (1) striped paper and to include at least (1) bird, butterfly or bee.

I used photos and a card from Paolina's 1st birthday for the layout, and then I flipped the sketch (see right side) and adapted it into a two-pager. After completing & photographing the layout I made the realization that I had completely forgotten to add the "twist" from the Paper Secrets challenge which was to include ribbon or trim. So it wouldn't be honest to submit it for their challenge...but I'm really loving the sketch and hoping to get another layout done with it before the 14th!

Scrappy Friends April Challenge

Another month and another Scrappy Friends challenge. I just love putting on my thinking cap to combine all four challenges into one layout! Brenda's challenge is to use the below sketch...

Rochelle has a color combo:

Kristi B's requirement is to use "something that flies" on our page. And Kerys had a recipe challenge: hand-stitching, a punch and mixed alphas.

I scrapped a photo of the delicious sushi Noé and I had on our last date in California before moving to Texas. I also managed to complete all the challenges!!

Let's Get Sketchy! April Week 2 Challenge

Many of us dread Mondays...but Let's Get Sketchy! gives me something to look forward to each and every Monday. I hope that this week's sketch will also get you excited.  Here is the sketch...

And here is my take on it...

I seriously cannot get enough of newborn baby hands & feet. So so precious!

Hope you will head over to the Let's Get Sketchy! blog and play along too.

S.W.A.T. Drill #5

We are all guilty of it. We covet those lovely, lovely newly released scrapbooking products, yet we are hoarding a plethora of supplies in our craft space. For those of us who have been papercrafting for a long time (I have been actively scrapbooking for about 12 years now) it's easy to have tools and supplies that are a decade old. I get so caught up in the latest & greatest trends, that I forget that I can breathe new life into what I already have.

The S.W.A.T. drill this week challenges us to do exactly that! So dig into that stash and create a fresh layout with older tools and/or products.

Here is my example...

For the background I used a sheet of patterned paper from the Dream Street Papers "Fresh" line. That company closed it's doors sevearal years ago, so I know this paper is old! The matting is a scrap from Basic Grey's "Recess" line...another oldie but goodie! The school-themed embellishments are Little Yellow Bicycle's "Head of the Class" line. I also used some older stamps...the star is My Mind's Eye but I cannot remember who made the circle. The blue rub-ons and various alphas are all unknown leftovers from prior projects. To make these tools and products more updated I used a recent PageMaps sketch.

If you head over to the S.W.A.T. blog and see what the rest of the Design Team created, I'm sure you will be inspired to pull out those older supplies to create something too!

April 1st Challenges

The first day of April which means that it's time for some new challenges. First up is a new sketch and color palette at Sketches With Color.

The sketch:

The colors:

And my layout:

I used lots of Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm and a picture of my sweet Paolina when she was 8 months old. It's hard to believe she will be three years old in about 2 months!

Now for the April 1st Challenge at About a Boy, which is to use chevrons on a layout.  Here's mine:

Santiago is the baby in the striped shirt, and about 6 months old. Love looking back at his chubbiness...he's so slender and all boy these days

Thanks for looking, and I hope you will take a chance to participate in both of these challenges!